Newbury Astronomical Society
Pegasus
The January edition of Pegasus, NAS's monthly newsletter, can be found at the link below:
What's Up and the Beginners Magazine
Steve Harris's last What's Up magazine was the December 2024 edition, but all the indespensible information he published every month is contained within the Beginners Magazine that we're thrilled to say is continuing on. The latest edition of the Beginners Magazine can be found at the link below:
Forthcoming Meetings
For the next speaker meeting, we will be welcoming Dr Aprajita Verma of Oxford University who will be speaking on A Tale of Two Telescopes: The EELT and the Vera Rubin Observatory. Telescopes like these were almost unthinkable only a few years ago - their coming is likely to transform much of what we understand about the universe, so this should be a great talk. After the break, we'll have our usual second half talks including recent images taken by members and an update on the latest Smart Telescopes including the new Seestar S30.
Speaker meetings start at 7.30pm and be held at the usual location of The Fair Close Centre, Newtown Road, Newbury: RG14 7BH. (click here for a map and further details of the session's meetings).
The February beginners meeting will follow a slightly different format for reasons that will become clear. It will start, as normal, with the usual highly informative "What's Up" covering all manner of phenomena in the skies in the coming weeks. But then we'll follow up with a primer on observing one of the key objects likely to be visible over that time - the elusive planet Mercury that will be making one of its fleeting apparitions in the evening sky. It's surprising how many amateur astronomers have not spotted it, so it'll be great to learn more. Then after the break, we'll have a longer than normal presentation by Richard Fleet on The Milky Way and our Place in the Galaxy. If you've ever looked up at the Milky Way and wondered what exactly you're looking at, and are intrigued at where we sit within that glorious spiral we've all seen on illustrations, this is the talk for you. If it's clear, of course, we will get the telescopes out for some observing, so do bring warm clothes in case we get the chance to get out there under the stars!
Beginners Meetings start at 7pm and are held at Stockcross Village Hall (Sutton Hall), RG20 8LN. (click here for a map and further details of the session's meetings).
If you wish to be a member of the society for this season and haven't completed your membership form yet, please complete a copy and bring it with you to the meeting.
We also offer an ICS Calendar file of all the meetings (main & beginners) of the session to add to your phone or email client:
Recent meetings:
For slides and other details from recent meetings, head to the Meeting Presentations page. The latest addition is Steve Harris' excellent presentation on Observing the Planets from the December beginners meeting - quite timely given the number of planets now visible!
Headlines.....
Image - Cody Astronomical Society
Society visit to the Cody Observatory
On the evening of Tuesday 18th March Val Russell has arranged a visit for Society members to the Cody Observatory in Farnborough. The observatory was built by the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough in 1966 as part of rocketry projects involving stellar navigation, and houses an unusual 6" (15cm) Carl Zeiss Coudé refractor telescope. Hopefully if the weather is kind, we may get to see it in action, but it should be a fascinating trip in any case.
As the observatory is within the confines of the Cody Technology park, attendees will need to bring photo ID (passport or driving licence) and have pre-registered, so if you're interested, please contact Val at her valrussell@newburyastro.org.uk email address so she can add you to the list.
Our thanks to the Cody Astronomical Society who will be our hosts for the evening.
What's with the Parade of Planets?
Some members may have heard reports in the media about a "Parade of Planets" that should be visible on the 21st January. As any of you who have been watching the skies recently will know, it's true that currently there are plenty of planets around - Venus and Saturn in the evening sky at dusk, Jupiter riding high late evening with Mars rising, resplendently red, to the east. It's a great site, and if you have a binoculars or a small telescope, Uranus and Neptune can be sought too.
The good news is that you don't need to wait until the 21st January to see these planets - they're all visible right now, and you'll be able to see them for a few weeks after. Indeed, Mercury will be joining them in March (though by then Saturn will be fast disappearing into the twilight). If you are not sure where to look, however, do come to our next Beginners meeting in February and there will be details of what can be seen in the "What's Up" section at the start of the meeting - and maybe the chance to pick some of them out if the sky is clear later in the meeting.
Image: Stellarium
Society telescopes for loan
The society has a number of telescopes now available for loan to members. An 8" Dobsonian reflector, similar to the one shown on the illustration here, a smaller 6" model, and a 5" refractor, plus the associated eyepieces, star maps etc needed to get it up and running. Our chairman Paul will be talking more about this at the February Speaker meeting, after which members can formally request loan of a telescope. Key points to note:
All users must be paid-up society members
All equipment loaned out must be signed for
Loans will be for a period of 3 or 6 months, with a pre-agreed return date
Loans will take place after a short instruction session at a beginners or observing evening
Hopefully this will prove a great opportunity for members to try their hand with a telescope, helping them better learn the sky and make a more informed decision about their own telescope purchases.
If you can't make the next meeting and would like more information, please contact Paul at chairman@newburyastro.org.uk
Outreach - call for volunteers
NAS has a thriving outreach programme as anyone who looks at the Outreach page on the website will know. Over the past year we've attended events as diverse as the Tadley Treacle Fair, RAL Open Week, Thatcham Family Fun Day, Observing evenings at the Earth Trust, and the YFC Country Fayre. Additionally, there have been many presentations to Scout, Cub, Brownie and Guide groups, Y3A, Air Cadets and The Parkinson's Society. It's an amazing amount of work with great impact, spreading the joy of the night sky to thousands of people, anchored by the sterling work of George Sallit and Steve Harris in particular, but to keep up the momentum (and with the Stargazing 2025 event imminent at RAL) we're always on the lookout for more volunteers to help. Many hands make light work, and you don't need loads of astronomical knowledge to make a real difference. If you can spare any time for any events on the schedule, please do let George know at Outreach@newburyastro.org.uk
Some of the society members who helped out at the RAL Open Week
Observing Evenings
Often the nicest way to enjoy astronomy under a dark sky is with the company of like-minded friends. They can provide reassurance in an unfamiliar dark environment, give you the encouragement to keep going if you are tiring, help you if your kit misbehaves or you are struggling to find an object, or rib you mercilessly if you turn up and forgot your eyepieces (before potentially lending you one of theirs for the evening).
One key finding of the survey NAS conducted in 2023 was that members wanted more opportunities to observe like this as a group, so as a result, NAS are now holding observing nights either coinciding with meteor showers, or (as with the evening at Stockcross recreation ground this January) on the first clear night around the dark of a moon. Obviously this is the UK, and so we have to contend with the ever-present risk of clouds. As a result, we are using both email and the society WhatsApp group to co-ordinate these events. If you're a NAS member and are interested, but not yet on the WhatsApp group, please reach out to Victoria at secretary@newburyastro.org.uk and we'll get you enrolled.
We have also now added a dedicated page on the website so for more information on when and where these sessions may be held, and what to do, head over to click here
NAS chair Paul Gibson and BAA Pres David Arditti
Solar observing in the car park
BAA Autumn Meeting 2024
By all accounts, the joint BAA/RAL/NAS Autumn weekend was a great success, with a sell-out crowd enjoying informative talks, and even the chance of solar observing during the breaks. We will have a full write-up in the next edition of Pegasus, but for now our thanks to the NAS volunteers who worked so hard to pull it off.
Rapt attention from the capacity crowd